lshannon Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I just bought a Marantz 8 factory wired in triode mode (not sure of what that means). I understand that Marantz 8s were earlier versions of 8b's. The Seller indicated that it would need a bit of power supply work (new electrolytic capacitors) to be reliable (not sure of what that means either). I've always heard that Marantz 8b's were thought by many to be the "holy grail" of vintage tube amps. Does anyone know of some places to send it to to get checked out and set up right? My only prior tube amp experiance has been with some Antique Sound Lab Wave 8s that were plug-n-play. This will replace my ASL Wave 8's as my office stereo amplifier. Thanks, - Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonelobo Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I would start by contacting Craig at NOSValves.com He has a long relationship with the Klipsch forums and a great reputation for quality work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 The 8 came before the 8B. It was rated at 30 wpc. The 8b replaced it soon after. It was rated at 35 wpc. I don't think there was a great deal of difference between them. You could switch them to triode mode by moving 4 resistors inside. Apparently, back in the late 50's early 60's, taking the bottom off your amp and whipping out the soldering iron to move a few leads was considered fairly normal. In triode mode you cut the output in half to 15 wpc or so. If you don't need a lot of watts, you might prefer this mode. If you want more power you can go the other way. I could never tell much difference in sound so I stuck with the regular mode. You can check with Craig at NOSValves who comes on this forum quite often. He'll do a hell of a job bringing that old amp up to snuff. He also has a hell of a backlog though so you might have to wait. There's a couple other places you can try if you can't wait for Craig. He might be a bit more caught up these days. www.nosvalves.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshannon Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Thanks for all the information re the amp and the name of Craig ! ! I'm really excited about getting the Amp. Looking to running it with a modded Dynaco PAS-2 and my Cornwalls. Right now I'm happy with my PAS-2, but am willing to look at others. - Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Lee, If you're still around, forgot to mention, make sure to use the "Test Inputs" and not the "Preamp" inputs. I forget how the legend goes but somebody at Marantz wanted the amp to filter something that was more common in the 50's than is now(rumble maybe?). Luckily engineers were able to get a compromise by adding the second set of "Test" inputs which do not have this filter. That's the worst explanation ever but if you do a little research you can probably find exact answer. It's been a couple of years since I've had my 8b out. Memory, not so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 The 8 also had a power socket on the back so it could be used with preamps like the Marantz 1 or early Macs that needed an outboard power supply. The "preamp" input has a high pass (20 hz or so) filter to weed out turntable rumble and other power-robbing, large cone excursion causing artifacts. I don't remember how my 8b did, but I know the Marantz 2s I had would make it down to 2 hz (!) through the "test input" and would produce admirable square waves as well - albeit while creating audible clicks from somewhere inside. You could feel the amps jumping slightly too. The 2s didn't get along with Dynaco tube preamps, for some reason - probably some form of impedance battle. You might want to watch for that with the PAS-2 / 8 combination. I'd leave in triode unless you really need the power. To my ears, the triode was just a teensy bit softer, the UL a bit punchier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshannon Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Thanks guys for the info on the inputs! I don't need the power and so I'll leave it in triode. - Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshannon Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 I have it set up and running and it is by far the best stereo sound I've ever had. Which is really kind of sad/irritating, as I'm 47 and just only now got great sound from stuff either made or designed in the late 50's or early 60's. How have we all been snookered into willingly buying stuff for decades that sounded worse than what our parents could listen to? - Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horns Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Lee, Glad you're enjoying the 8, sorry to hear it took so long! I've owned & tested many vintage tube amps on the k horns over the years, the 8B in triode was the best sounding. I currently use a custom built power amp using 7591's. Sound is similar to my old Mac 225, smooth but, not the low end like the 8B had. My dream setup is a set of 9's, in triode of course! Anyone here using 9's? Cheers. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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